Foreign hackers are hijacking social media accounts in Taiwan to spread disinformation aimed at damaging the reputation of the armed forces, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) said yesterday.
The newly identified cyberoperatives hacked into devices connected to the Internet, such as surveillance cameras and facial recognition systems, to gain access to social media accounts on the forum Dcard and the Professional Technology Temple (PTT) bulletin board system, the bureau said in a news release.
China-linked hackers impersonating Taiwanese air force pilots have used the accounts to write posts about alleged poor pay and working conditions in the military, it said.
Photo: Reuters
One post said that many pilots were willing to face NT$3 million (US$92,914) in financial losses rather than renew their military contracts, while another said that the author was leaving the military for the civilian sector to have more time with their family, the bureau said.
On PTT, an account named “ss900287” amplified the messages by posting a link to a photograph purportedly showing a list of retired military pilots applying for jobs at China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), it said.
The Air Force Command’s efforts to debunk the fake stories have been met with a surge of similar posts on 170 abnormal Facebook groups, including “The Strait Today” (今日海峽), “Commentary by the Commander” (提督) and “You Ban, Me Mad” (你下架我狂), it said.
Chinese hackers have targeted facial recognition systems, digital cameras and other network devices to obtain personal data, which they have used to steal social media accounts, the bureau said, citing an investigation by its cybersecurity unit.
Assuming the identity of genuine users has allowed Beijing to enhance the apparent authenticity of the disinformation, it said.
The external forces responsible for the disinformation campaign used data de-identification techniques and rerouted their activity to mask their identities and location, the bureau said.
Social media platforms were notified and asked to ban the groups and users connected to the incidents, it said.
Taiwanese should enhance the security of networked devices and protect their accounts by using strong passwords and regularly updating them, it said.
In other news, fishers in Penghu County reported spotting a flotilla of Chinese fishing boats using fake Taiwanese radar transponder codes in waters southwest of the county’s Cimei Township (七美).
The boats pinged as Taiwanese vessels on radar, but upon visual inspection were clearly identified as being of Chinese origin, sources said.
Chinese fishing boats can be identified by their black hull paint and illegal vessels would be expelled upon detection, the Coast Guard Administration said.
The reason for the Chinese boats disguising their transponder code is not known, the agency added.
Additional reporting by Liu Yu-ching and CNA
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